Monday, April 12, 2010Harneys Adds Cyprus office

HarneysInternational Law Firm Harneys Adds Cyprus office

International offshore law firm Harney Westwood & Riegels has formally introduced its new Cyprus office, the latest addition to the firm’s growing international network.

Located in Limassol, the Cyprus office provides advice on all aspects of commercial, banking, corporate and tax law with particular emphasis on investment flows into and via Cyprus driven by the country’s favourable tax regime. With the addition of the Cyprus practice Harneys is the first offshore law firm to offer fully integrated service in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman.

“Cyprus is a preferred jurisdiction for Russia investment, and Harneys has been the leading provider of BVI legal advice to Russia for more than three decades. So the addition of Cyprus was a natural step for us,” Development Partner Peter Tarn said. “But ultimately we see Cyprus as part of our broader emerging markets strategy because we believe Cyprus will be relevant to a great many of our clients including those in the Far East, India and Europe.”

Harneys entered into a ‘best friends’ agreement with leading Cypriot law firm Aristodemou Liozides Yiolitis LLC in 2008 and ALY has now formally been brought into the Harneys network.

Tarn noted that the two firms enjoy a close cultural fit. “ALY’s commitment to service standards and fast growing reputation with magic circle and large international law firms means this relationship effectively picked itself,” he said.

The Cyprus office is under the leadership of Managing Partner Pavlos Aristodemou who practices banking, finance and corporate law. Other Cyprus partners are Corporate & Commercial Partner Demetris Loizides and Tax Partner Emily Yiolitis, who leads the new Tax & Regulatory Department, which joins the firm’s Cyprus tax practice with its BVI and Cayman regulatory offering.

Aristodemou said that Cyprus’ extensive network of double tax treaties, its EU membership, and its location make it attractive to a wide range of cross-border commercial and finance applications. “With its political and economic ties to Europe and definitively on-shore identity Cyprus is most certainly a jurisdiction of the future,” Aristodemou said. “We are already beginning to see international law firms following Harneys to Cyprus and we expect to see this trend continue.”

Aristodemou added that as part of the merger the firm plans to relocate a BVI lawyer to Cyprus and a Cyprus law to London in the coming months. Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis LLC was established in 2006 and developed a practice focussed on all aspects of Cyprus commercial, banking, corporate, tax and trust law. Over the past few years independent directories have ranked ALY as an up-and-coming law firm providing expert legal advice and rapid response, often working with high-profile international clients. Chambers Global recently described ALY as “commercially astute, very sharp, and able to deliver consistent advice in a number of different jurisdictions.”

Harneys is a leading international offshore law firm, and is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands. Through its network of offices in the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, the firm provides the world’s top law firms, financial institutions and corporates with legal services relating to British Virgin Islands, Cayman and Cyprus law. The firm is consistently top rated by leading independent legal directories including Chambers Global, IFLR1000 and the Legal500.

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